Page 115 of Tricked By Jack

“It’s not enough,” I seethe. “He deserves—”

“Nothing.” She raises her chin. “He deserves nothing. To men like Charles Mortis, nothing is their worst nightmare. But I canceled his book deals and Valentine helped make sure no college or uni use my dad’s books. I also sold the family home. That’s partly why his final resting place is on a mantle I hardly ever clean.”

I whistle slowly. “Fuck, Little Bride. When you say nothing it really means…”

“Nothing,” she smiles.

A pregnant silence falls over us, and I wonder what she’s thinking. Judging by the way she’s biting into her lush lower lip, it’s not anything good.

“What’s on your mind?” I ask when I can’t take it anymore.

“You said I was the doctor who did nothing, and you’re correct.” Her voice rises. “I could probably have stopped Valentine from getting involved with Ruby. You were right to blame me. But, Jack, I need you to know something.”

“What?”

“Even if I could go back and change things, I wouldn’t.” Finally meeting my gaze, I see the challenge in her gray depths. “Because he loved her. Like I love you. Even the damaged and broken deserve love, don’t we?”

Refusing to give her the fight I feel her angling for, I bend and fuse my lips to her. “You have no idea how true that is,wife.”

She lets out a low moan as I nibble on her bottom lip, but instead, I pull back. “I knew about your dad.”

Her eyes widen. “What?”

“I didn’t know all the things he did to you. But when I looked into you before my first and only therapist appointment, I already knew you’d killed him.” I lift her hand to my lips, pressing a kiss to her knuckles. “So I know what you did.”

“And you don’t care?” Disbelief colors her voice.

“You’re misunderstanding me,” I chuckle. “I care very much. But only about what he did to deserve it. Now, if you’re asking if I care that you took a life, the answer is no. No, I don’t give two shits. Do you?”

She scrunches her nose in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“I’ve killed plenty of times. Do you care about that?”

Eve’s never been more beautiful to me than right now, as she shakes her head and looks at me from beneath her long, black eyelashes. “I don’t care who you’ve killed or that you’ve killed. All I care about is us and our future.”

Chapter 36

The Bride

Iwant to cry as I look at myself in the bathroom mirror. This is the first time I see my reflection, something I’ve avoided until today. But it’s been nine days since the attack, and, well, in my mind I thought I’d look better.

The cut makes me look absolutely hideous. I know it’ll fade over time. It’s already scabbed. But… oh, who am I kidding? I’m hideous.

“It’s not that bad,” Jack soothes, gathering my hair and dragging it off my neck so he can cup the nape.

My fingers trace the contours of my face, applying precise pressure to gauge the depth of the damage, wincing when the motion tugs at my shoulder.

“Yeah?” I sniff. “Do you want a matching cut?”

Jack’s answering laugh is deliciously dark and low. “If you want to cut me, wife, all you have to do is say so.”

I gape at his words. Would he really let me? When I meet his gaze in the reflection I know he’s serious. The truth is right there in his green orbs. He’d let me slice him open and bathe in his blood if it would make me happy.

Rather than answering, I allow myself to admire his broad shoulders and the defined muscles of his abdomen, flexing my fingers against the sink when the healing rope burns on my wrists protest the pressure.

My eyes land on his scar, and I subconsciously lick my lips while tracing it all the way to the flesh marred by the bullet that killed him months ago—before they dragged him back. He shifts, and my gaze follows as though he’s commanding my attention with movement alone.

I study the pumpkin tattoo on his deltoid. “Why did you get that tattoo?” I hear myself ask.